Beloved HomeGoods rival closes multiple stores as ‘retail ice age’ grips US

The DISCOUNT home decor store on Tuesday morning said it will be closing several stores in the wake of the retail ice age.

The move came as the company was struggling with financial problems that forced it to close doors at hundreds of locations.

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Tuesday Morning once had 687 stores in the US and now it’s down to 215, per company.

“Enable the company to reduce its outstanding debt, raise the significant and necessary capital and ultimately transform itself into a more nimble retailer that profitably serves traditional goods markets,” Tuesday Morning said in a statement.

The company published a full overview of all store closures on its website.

Stock traders blame the “retail apocalypse” and “retail ice age” for the shutdown.

Dennis Dick, a trader at Las Vegas-based Bright Trading LLC, told Reuters that Walmart and Target were grappling with similar financial woes when the retail apocalypse first seemed strange.

“This is a bit of a retail apocalypse. It was Walmart and everyone thought it was a one-off,” Dick explained.

But now you think maybe it’s not so strange after all.

“Now that Target has missed out on a lot more revenue than Walmart, they’re afraid the consumer isn’t as strong as everyone thinks.”

A “retail ice age” is a term used to describe the multitude of stores that are closing lately due to inflation, the shift in shopping habits to e-commerce, and more.

The battles between all retail outlets has resulted in several also starting to reduce items and offer huge discounts to lure in consumers.

Tuesday Morning recently said it would offer deals on all of its products when stores close, even selling everything down to home furnishings and equipment.

“The biggest surprise was the inventory markdowns and rollbacks. I don’t think any analyst expected it,” CFRA analyst Arun Sundaram told Reuters.

That might be good for consumers’ pockets, but such big sales usually only happen when the companies are really not doing well.

The takeover of online shopping can also be blamed as the culprit for retailers’ financial woes as people generally don’t spend as much as inflation has pushed up prices everywhere.

Macy’s announced plans to close 125 locations over the next three years.

Walmart plans to close 160 stores over the next six years, and Bed Bath & Beyond plans to close 150 stores over the next few years.